Dreaming Darkly In Pasadena
by Risknight
Summary: A collection of dreams from the residents of TBBT.
1. Chapter 1

**A few days ago, I was messaging with Darkly Dreaming. Every time I see her screen name, it tickles me. I think of all kinds of weird dreams that could fit her name. So, I decided to write a few down. Welcome to Dreaming Darkly In Pasadena. Each story is just a shot little thing, and I'll try to include at least one from each member of the Big Bang world.  
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><p>Sheldon snuggled down under Penny's blankets and breathed in her green apple scent. To be honest, he was surprised she had agreed to let him have her bed. In truth, he could have slept on the couch, but he couldn't help pushing her limits. It was reassuring to know she would actually go out of her way to ensure his comfort. Slowly he drifted off to sleep, comfort and warmth cocooning him.<p>

_In the distance he heard a booming screech of anger. He pushed his way through the thick vines and deep mud as fast as he could. His legs felt like limp noodles from the exertion. Sweat burned his eyes and his heart pounded so hard, he feared it would explode in his chest. He tripped over a submerged root and fell into the swampy bog. It clogged his nose and mouth, preventing him from drawing in air for a few seconds until he could claw it away. He collapsed onto his side, his body refusing to move any further. Pounding filled his ears and he couldn't decide whether it was his heart or footfalls. Spots appeared before his eyes and he felt his extremities growing colder. Death stalked him and he had failed to evade it. Darkness crept into his vision and he flopped onto his back, desperate to see the sun through the canopy of mangroves. He flinched as a cold hand pressed hard on his chest. He looked over and stared into the face of hate. It snarled at him, spittle hitting his cheeks._

"_She will always be mine," it hissed before digging it's claws deep into his chest and shredding his heart muscle._

Sheldon gasped and sat up quickly just as Penny burst through the door. "Sweetie? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Sheldon looked around the dark bedroom and frantically felt his chest. Slowly he drew in deep breaths, trying to slow his racing heartbeat. He looked at Penny with wide eyes. "A dream," he whispered. "Just a dark dream."

Penny sat down beside him, rubbing his back sympathetically. "Well, you're okay, now. Lay back, Sheldon and go back to sleep. Dark dreams can't hurt you."

Sheldon looked pleadingly at her. "Will you stay with me?" he whispered. "Just for a little while?"

Penny smiled at him tenderly. "Of course I will," she promised, ignoring how tired she was herself. She leaned her back against the headboard and smoothed the covers over him. "Goodnight, Moon Pie. Only sweet dreams from here on out."

Sheldon closed his eyes and leaned his head against her leg. Soon he was drifting off again.

_Sheldon followed the dirt path through the corn field. The sun was warm on his skin. Birds twittered in the distance. The path widened and he found himself on the edge of a pristine white beach. He watched the gentle surf slip along the sand for a moment. Laughter caught his attention and he looked to the left. In the distance he saw a female form, dancing along the waters edge. Her long golden hair floated in the breeze. Sheldon smiled happily and began walking toward her._


	2. Chapter 2

_She shivered with delight as she tightened the last restraint holding her newest test subject to the table. Years of hard work and diligence had finally paid off. The organization she now worked for was willing to allow her a lot of leeway as long as she delivered what they wanted; a sure fire way to control the greatest minds in the world._

_The test subject began to stir so she leaned over her. She wanted her face to be the first thing she saw. She waited patiently for a full minute. When her eyes remained closed she gritted her teeth. She reared back and slapped her hard enough to leave a red mark. She grinned as her bright green eyes finally focused on her. Confusion and fear warred within those orbs._

"_Am..Amy? What…?"_

"_Hello, bestie. Comfy?" she asked._

_Penny began to flex and twist, but the restraints held tight. Panic began to spread through her. ""What is going on?" she demanded in a shaky voice. "Why am I tied up?!"_

_Amy grin widened and she placed a hand along Penny's jaw. "You know, this is all your fault. If you hadn't been there, always in the way, distracting my love with your golden skin and stupid arguments, we would have been happy."_

"_What are you talking about?" she demanded, trying and failing to hold back her fear._

_Amy leaned down and tried to kiss Penny, but she jerked her head to the side. Amy growled angrily and grabbed Penny's jaw tighter. She pressed her lips to Penny's tightly before pulling away and moving away from the table. She picked up a long, thin scalpel. _

_Amy turned back to her. "Instead of being happy and regularly joining our bodies in glorious passion, Sheldon held me at arm's length while allowing you to occupy his thoughts and dreams. Well, never again," Amy said ominously._

_Penny sobbed and tears slipped down the sides of her face into her hair. "Amy, please!"_

"_Did you know that there is a pheromone that can affect a man's hormone levels? It's pretty weak, thanks to evolution. I suspect that primitive mankind was more susceptible to it. A way to ensure perpetuation of the species. A chemical that ensures copulation, in essence." _

_Penny sobbed louder and Amy came back to the table and examined the instrument in her hand. _

"_I can use that pheromone to influence the male gender," Amy said clinically. "All I need is a steady supply of it to work with."_

_Penny put all her strength into trying to break the restraints around her. "Amy, please! Don't do this! We're friends! You can't kill me!" she screamed desperately._

_Amy paused and smiled widely, her eyes overly bright. "Kill you? Oh no, Penny. I'm not going to kill you! I could never do that!"_

_Penny felt a surge of relief wash through her. It was short lived as Amy leaned down and grinned wider. _

"_You'll wish you were dead, though. I promise you that."_

Penny gasped as pain radiated through her. She looked around her darkened bedroom wildly. The adrenaline from her dream was still pumping through her body. She sat up on the floor and looked at the blankets tangled around her legs.

"Just a dream," she whispered through the tears pouring down her face. "Oh god! Just a frakin' dream." She stood shakily and kicked away the blankets. She wobbled a bit, but made it to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and looked at her reflection.

Residual fear still shone in her eyes. With a sob she turned and sat down on the toilet, her head dropping into her hands. After a moment she stood, and headed into the kitchen. There was a bottle of vodka in the cupboard calling her name.


	3. Chapter 3

_He double checked to make sure everything was perfect. He had wine, strawberry tarts, and fresh whipped cream. He had his comfy pajamas with the constellation pattern on. His beloved Cinnamon was curled up at his side, and he had The Big Bang Theory ready for viewing._

_He was so excited! He still couldn't believe there was a movie about his life! (And his friends, of course.) He dimmed the lights and turned on the movie. This was so exciting!_

_._

_.._

_…_

_Raj set down the remote and tried to steady his breathing. This was… the movie… It was horrible! His life wasn't like that! It was all wrong! Those horrible movie people had completely distorted and fictionalized everything! Howard was portrayed as some sort of skeezy perv. Bernadette was shrewish and mean. Leonard was whiny and controlling, eager to sleep with anyone who would have him. They turned Penny from a fun and vivacious friend into a faded, tired woman one drink away from complete alcoholism. Amy was cruel and borderline sexually abusive. Sheldon started out as he really was, but as the movie progressed they made it seem as if Amy had beaten him down into a shadow of his former strong self._

_That wasn't the way it really was! Okay, so maybe Howard had been a tiny bit perverted before Bernadette came along, but he wasn't now! And Bernadette was the sweetest woman he ever met. Okay, so she could be a little bit scary when her temper was roused, but it's not like she was intimidating. Much._

_And Leonard and Penny had a storybook romance! Love at first sight! Okay, so it took three years, but they eventually got together. And their breakup was just temporary! And yes, Leonard had slept with Leslie and Priya. And Stephanie. And the old donor. And Sheldon's professor friend. And he tried to sleep with Alicia and Missy and Alice. But the movie made it seem like he was some sort of man-whore!_

_And Penny didn't drink nearly as much as they made it seem! In fact, he had only seen her drunk twice those first few years. So what if she had a few drinks every now and then. And yes, the two times before had both been with Leonard, but that was just coincidence. She is very happy with Leonard! She didn't even mind when he showed her almost nude pics to colleagues. And when he complained about her having friends he didn't enjoy being around, she gladly gave them up for him! That was love!_

_Right?_

_As for Sheldon and Amy, they had twisted that relationship into something uneven and weird! Amy was so patient and supportive of Sheldon! Okay, so she wanted him to stop watching sci-fi, and collecting comics, and playing games, but it was only because she was trying to help him grow. And there was nothing wrong with her trying to get Sheldon to be intimate with her! Sheldon just didn't know he wanted sex yet. Once he had it, he'd realize what he was missing. And that whole flu situation was warped! So what if Amy pretended to be sicker than she really was! She was just desperate for Sheldon to touch her! There's nothing wrong with that! It would only be wrong if it was some sex crazed guy trying to seduce a young innocent woman!_

_Raj jumped to his feet and began pacing back and forth. This entire movie was a disaster! When people saw it, they would think horrible things about his friends! He had to stop it's release! But how? A beeping sound began ringing in his ears, making it difficult for him to formulate a plan. He looked around angrily for the source of the noise to stop it. He didn't see any likely origin and he was getting more and more annoyed._

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><p>"AHHH!"<p>

Raj jerked upright, sweat covering his body. He looked around frantically, quickly turning off his alarm clock. A dream. Just a dream. Raj wiped at his face and took a shuddering breath. A very vivid, extremely disturbing nightmare, to be honest. He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and looked into the mirror. He fancied he could still see shadows of the nightmare in his eyes.

He wanted to deny what his dream was telling him. Just a random series of exaggerated memories, right? Penny wasn't really sad and beaten down by Leonard's behavior. Howard wasn't really controlled by his wife. Sheldon wasn't actually being harassed. Right?

He just needed to keep telling himself that everything was fine. Maybe someday he'd actually believe it.

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><p><strong>AN: This isn't goodbye. It's just that I need to step away from this show for awhile. I am not happy with the current undertones of abuse the show seems to be passing off as 'comedy'. The writers have been moving away from the strong, interesting characters and storylines just so they can make lame jokes about sex and sexuality for two years now. They see nothing wrong with subjecting half of their characters to borderline abusive behavior if it gets them laughs and ratings. **

**I no longer like any of the characters except for Howard. I pity Penny and Sheldon. Leonard, Amy and Bernadette make my skin crawl. It's grown increasingly hard to write any stories when I find I have very little desire to spend time with these characters. **

**For those of you still writing, I applaud you. You have a stronger will that I do. I wish everyone the best, and I hope I can find my way back here eventually. **


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